When a concrete flooring surface is installed, a gap is ordinarily left between adjacent slabs of concrete. These gaps allow the concrete slabs room to move due to settling of a structure, and to expand and contract due to environmental temperature changes.
A typical concrete flooring surface consists of concrete slabs of large dimensions, such as by 30.times.30 feet square. Each slab is separated from adjacent slabs by a gap of approximately 1/2 inch. To provide a finished flooring surface, a flooring material such as vinyl or rubber tile is applied to the surface of the concrete slabs with the edges of the tiles even with the edges of the concrete slabs at each edge of the expansion joint. When adjacent concrete slabs contract, they separate, and they will carry the tile adhered thereto with them. If tile were laid over the crack, such as where it is filled with caulking, the tile will crack (it should not crack if it were laid up to the edge of crack of the flooring surface). Accordingly, the gap between the concrete slabs will also increase, thus causing a gap to appear between adjacent tiles applied to respective adjacent slabs of concrete. The ground may appear in the enlarged gap between the concrete slabs. In some cases, the exposed ground and enlarged gap may violate health codes. When adjacent concrete slabs expand and move closer together, the tiles adhered thereto may become damaged. In this respect, tiles adhered to adjacent concrete slabs may chip, crack, break or come unadhered from the concrete slab, as the tiles from adjacent slabs push against each other.
In view of the foregoing problems, there is a need for a device which can fill the gap between adjacent concrete slabs and prevent exposure of the gap and the underlying ground when adjacent concrete slabs move further apart, and for maintaining a generally continuous flooring surface when adjacent concrete slabs move closer.